Why BYU's Mendenhall joined the Twitter world

BYU head football coach Bronco Mendenhall speaks with reporters at the NFL Draft, discussing Ezekiel Ansah being selected fifth overall in the draft by the Detroit Lions. Mendenhall has recently established his own Twitter account: @BYU_Football.

BYU football coach Bronco Mendenhall is Twitterpated. Well, not exactly. Let's not get carried away here. But the fact is, a few weeks ago, Mendenhall established his own Twitter account: @BYU_Football.

But the fact is, a few weeks ago, Mendenhall established his own Twitter account: @BYU_Football.

Don't expect to find out what Bronco ate for breakfast, or where his favorite surfing spots are, or his biggest pet peeves by following him on Twitter.

But followers could learn a lot about the coach and his program.

Last December in San Diego, while waiting for the Poinsettia Bowl press conference to begin, a reporter casually asked Mendenhall if he would ever consider getting a Twitter account.

Mendenhall responded with a blank stare, then asked for a brief explanation of the social media site.

After listening to a description of Twitter, Mendenhall replied flatly, "I'm not sold."

Apparently, others were more convincing.

Mendenhall suddenly greeted the Twitter World with this message on April 16: "Our staff has won out — I've finally joined Twitter. Happy how spring football finished & looking forward to the season. Proud to be a Cougar!"

Before the day was over, he had acquired a few thousand followers.

This unexpected development shocked his players. Former Cougar linebacker Brandon Ogletree, who just finished his senior year, reacted with this tweet: "Never thought I'd see the day."

Perhaps informed that there are a bevy of fake Bronco Mendenhall Twitter accounts floating around out there, the coach tweeted out a photo of himself tweeting, as proof that it was indeed him.

On Wednesday night, Mendenhall tweeted out a humorous picture of himself from last week's National Football League draft — standing next to Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah and wearing Ziggy's 3-D glasses without lenses.

"Thinking about the 3D glasses for the sideline next year," Mendenhall wrote. "Maybe for the entire staff!"

Joining Twitter was a big, and surprising, step for a man who prizes his privacy.

"That's been one of those lessons where I've learned, 'Never say never,’ ” Mendenhall said of setting up his Twitter account. "In my eight years as the coach here, one of the things that has been a unique struggle, and a learning opportunity, is how to share information appropriately and timely, and also handle sensitive information, and share it with fans and the media, and then have it come in the very best light possible, and in the most truthful manner possible. What I've learned is that when I rely on others to share that information, rarely do I think has it been captured or presented in a way that I think is reflective of the way it was intended — whether it's by me, or someone else."

Over the past month, Mendenhall decided that Twitter was a viable option — a way to express himself, shall we say, at a higher level. Twitter provides him a platform to address issues or questions without filters to a relatively widespread audience. Many coaches around the country use Twitter as a recruiting tool. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe has his own Twitter handle.

Bronco may only be 3-5 versus Kyle, but, Bronco has more
Top 25 finishes, more Top 15 finishes, more conference championships, more bowl
games, more winning seasons, an overall better record, and has finished with
higher national
More..

Jeff Call has been a sportswriter for the Deseret News since 1997. He is the BYU beat writer and has been covering Cougar sports since 1993, when he served as sports editor at the Daily Universe. Call has written several more ..